The present invention relates to recessed lighting fixtures and in particular to a ceiling lighting fixture with an adjustable shutter for controlled illumination.
Various forms of wall hung art benefit from illumination. Such art may benefit particularly from light sources residing on or in a ceiling because of the non-invasive nature of ceiling mounted lighting fixtures. U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,956 for “Recessed Adjustable Lighting Fixture,” describes a lighting fixture suitable for mounting in a ceiling. The lighting fixture of the '956 patent includes a pivoting light platform and a mirror or prism for directing the light towards a wall. Although the fixture of the '956 patent resides mostly above the ceiling, the light pattern resulting on a wall has a trapezoidal or a skewed shape, and does not uniformly frame art work hung on the wall.
A light with an adjustable pattern is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,720 for “Variable Mask Device for an Illuminator.” The ''720 patent describes a mask with four independent plates which may be shifted to form a desired pattern on a wall. Although the light fixture described in the '720 patent allows adjustment of four sides of a light pattern, the fixture is designed to mount in front of a surface, not behind a surface, and is thus invasive into a room. Further, the mask is adjusted using knobs extending outward from all four sides of the fixture. While such adjusting knobs may be suitable for a fixture residing well away from a mounting surface, the knobs are not easily manipulated if the fixture is adapted to reside behind a surface. Additionally, plates attached to the knobs are sandwiched between a support frame pair urged together by pressure plates, and may be difficult to move. The '956 patent and the '720 patent are herein incorporated by reference.